Philosophy

PHI 100 Thinking About Thinking (4 Credits)

What is thinking? What is the distinction between mind and body, and ought we to accept it? Can the mind survive the death of the body? Can you be thoughtful and passionate at the same time? What kind of access can we have to the worlds of human beings from other cultures and historical periods? Readings from ancient, modern and contemporary philosophers primarily in the Western tradition. Designed to introduce beginning students to problems and methods in philosophy and to the philosophy department at Smith. Enrollment limited to 30. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 101 Plausible and Implausible Reasoning: What Happened? What Will Happen Next? (4 Credits)

The course provides an introduction to deductive and inductive logic. It introduces classical Aristotelian and modern truth-functional logic; explains the relationship between truth-functional logic, information science and probability; and it introduces basic features of statistical and causal reasoning in the sciences. This course is designed for students who are uncomfortable with symbolic systems. It is not a follow-up to PHI 102. Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken PHI 102. Enrollment limited to 24. {M}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 102 Valid and Invalid Reasoning: What Follows From What? (4 Credits)

Formal logic and informal logic. The study of abstract logic together with the construction and deconstruction of everyday arguments. Logical symbolism and operations, deduction and induction, consistency and inconsistency, paradoxes and puzzles. Examples drawn from law, philosophy, politics, literary criticism, computer science, history, commercials, mathematics, economics and the popular press. Enrollment limited to 60. {M}

Fall, Spring, Annually

PHI 108/ REL 108 The Meaning of Life (4 Credits)

Offered as REL 108 and PHI 108. This course asks the big question, "What is the Meaning of Life?" and explores a range of answers offered by philosophers and religious thinkers from a host of different traditions in different eras of human history. We explore a variety of forms of philosophical and religious thinking and consider the ways in which philosophical and religious thinking can be directly relevant to our own lives. {H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 112 Chinese Philosophy (4 Credits)

Introduction to some of the canonical texts and most influential ideas in the early Chinese philosophical schools, including those of Confucius, Mencius and Zhuangzi. Questions to be covered include: What is the nature of reality? How can we know what is the right thing to do? What is the self? How important is the family and obeying parents and guardians? Is there such a thing as "human nature?" Does anyone have access to the truth? How should one understand the relationship between humans and the natural world? Enrollment limited to 30. {H}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 120/ PSY 120 Intro to Cognitive Science (4 Credits)

Offered as PHI 120 and PSY 120. Cognitive Science is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Mind, drawing from Cognitive psychology, Philosophy, A.I., Linguistics and Human Neuroscience. The class will cover five key problems: Vision and Imagery,Classes and Concepts, Language, Logic and Reasoning, and Beliefs, and look at both classic work and contemporary work highlighting the interesting questions. Students will be active participants in trying out classic experiments, exploring new ideas and arguing about the meaning and future of the work. Enrollment limited to 60. {M}{N}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 124 History of Ancient and Medieval Western Philosophy (4 Credits)

A study of Western philosophy from the early Greeks to the end of the Middle Ages, with emphasis on the pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and Epicureans, and some of the scholastic philosophers. {H}{M}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

PHI 125 History of Early Modern European Philosophy (4 Credits)

A study of Western philosophy from Bacon through the 18th century, with emphasis on Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and especially Kant. Enrollment limited to 30. {H}{M}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

PHI 127 Introduction to Indian Philosophy (4 Credits)

An introduction to the two-thousand-odd years of philosophy on the Indian subcontinent, focusing on central texts and topics: the nature of self, mind and reality; knowledge and its acquisition; morality and meaning; language and aesthetics. Students read selections of primary texts in translation, such as the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, Milinda's Questions, the Nyaya Sutras and others. The course focuses on premodern Indian philosphy but includes some modern Indian thought, especially that which reflects on the relationship between modern and traditional ideas in the subcontinent. {H}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 200 Colloquium in Philosophy (4 Credits)

Intensive practice in writing and discussing philosophy and in applying philosophical methods to key problems raised in essays written by members of the philosophy department. The spring semester course must be taken by the end of the student's sophomore year unless the department grants a deferral or the student declares the major itself during the spring of their sophomore year. Minors are encouraged but not required to take the class. Prerequisite: Two college courses in philosophy, one of which may be taken concurrently, or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. WI

Spring

PHI 203 Modal Logic (4 Credits)

This course provides an in-depth exploration of modal logic, a type of formal logic that extends classical logic to include operators of necessity, possibility, knowledge, belief, time, and obligation. The course covers the syntax and semantics of various modal systems, including propositional (normal and non-normal) and quantified modal logic. Additionally, the course explores philosophical questions regarding modality, including (but not limited to) the ontological status of possible worlds. Prerequisite: PHI 102. Enrollment limited to 40. (E) {M}

Spring, Variable

PHI 204 Philosophy and Design (4 Credits)

Design is one of the most pervasive human activities. Its effects--intended or unintended--permeate our lives. Questions abound about the role of design and the significance of being able to exercise it and of being subject to it. For example: Are there particular pleasures, as well as special responsibilities, characteristic of designing? What is the nature of deprivation imposed upon people when they lack the opportunity or the knowledge to share in the design of their living or working conditions? How much control do designers actually have over the meaning and use of what they design?. {S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 205 Intermediate Cognitive Science (4 Credits)

Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary study of the mind. This course is divided into units corresponding to these disciplines: Linguistics, Computer Science, Psychology and Neuroscience. In looking at each of these fields, the course focuses on the philosophical issues. Key questions include: Can computers think? Is the human mind a computer? Is language innate? Does language affect thought? What are mental images? Do humans perceive as much as they think they do? Do humans reason rationally? How is conscious experience related to the brain? What are emotions? Why do humans dream? Is there a self? How do animals think?. {M}{N}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 209/ PSY 209 Colloquium: Philosophy and History of Psychology (4 Credits)

Offered as PSY 209 and PHI 209. The course introduces you to the philosophical debates behind the psychology of the mind, focusing mostly on work from the 20th century onwards. We focus on the philosophical implications of major historical figures in psychology and their approach to Mind (James, Freud, Skinner). We read contemporary work on the problems of reductionism (Can we just talk about brains?), consciousness (Why do we have it, is it necessary? Could we be zombies or automata?) and the nature of a coherent self (Is there one? Do we construct it? Does it end with our bodies?). Discussion and writing are weekly requirements. It is not intended as an introduction to psychology or philosophy, which is why there is a prerequisite. Prerequisite: At least one college-level course in philosophy or psychology. Preference given to psychology and philosophy majors. Enrollment limited to 25. {N}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 211pn Topics in Science and Society-Pandemics (4 Credits)

How do we represent pandemics? How do these representations implicate science, politics and society? The prevalent ‘contagion’ frame is a story about seeing the microbe as the enemy, erasing or downplaying human agency and practices (especially the expansion into new ecosystems), and affirming epidemiology and medical science as the only solution. The frame carries over into politics and culture and provides a way to translate the science of contagious disease into social terms that influence the public and also public policy. This frame and others are used to explore past and current pandemics.Enrollment limited to 40. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 211sr Topics in Science and Society-The Scientific Revolution (4 Credits)

What was the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries? Did a revolution even occur? If it did, was it really revolutionary? If it occurred, what forces produced it? How did the boundaries of “science,” which was known as “natural philosophy,” change during this time period? Readings are drawn from primary and secondary sources. Enrollment limited to 40. {H}{N}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 213/ PSY 213 Colloquium: Language Acquisition (4 Credits)

Offered as PSY 213 and PHI 213. A detailed examination of how children learn their language. Theories of acquisition of word meaning, syntax and pragmatics are examined, as well as methodology for assessment of children’s knowledge. Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural data and perspectives are considered, as well as applications in language therapy and education. Students undertake an original research project using transcript analysis, and read original research literature. Background in linguistics or child development is necessary. Prerequisites: PHI 236 or EDC 235. Enrollment limited to 25. {N}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 220 Incompleteness and Inconsistency: Philosophy of Logic (4 Credits)

Among the most important and philosophically intriguing results in 20th-century logic are the limitative theorems such as Gödel’s incompleteness theorem and Tarski’s demonstration of the indefinability of truth in certain languages. A wide variety of approaches to resolving fundamental mathematical and semantical paradoxes have emerged in the wake of these results, as well as a variety of alternative logics including paraconsistent logics in which contradictions are tolerated. This course examines logical and semantic paradoxes and their philosophical significance, as well as the choice between accepting incompleteness and inconsistency in logic and knowledge. Prerequisite: one course in logic. {M}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 221 Ethics and Society (4 Credits)

What does morality demand of us in the real world? How does ethical reflection inform our social, economic and personal lives? Every informed citizen must ask these questions. This course addresses issues that arise in the context of environmental ethics (preserving species and places, genetically modified foods, global warming); animal rights (vegetarianism, vivisection, experimentation); biomedical ethics (abortion, euthanasia, reproductive technologies); business ethics (advertising, accounting, whistle-blowing, globalism); sexual ethics (harassment, coercion, homosexuality); social justice (war, affirmative action, poverty, criminal justice); and other such topics. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

PHI 222 Ethics (4 Credits)

An examination of the works of some major moral theorists of the Western philosophical tradition and their implications for understanding the nature of the good life and the sources and scope of moral responsibilities. Enrollment limited to 25. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Annually

PHI 224 Philosophy of Science (4 Credits)

Case studies in the history of science are used to examine philosophical issues as they arise in scientific practice. Topics include the relative importance of theories, models and experiments; realism; explanation; confirmation of theories and hypotheses; causes; and the role of values in science. {M}{N}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

PHI 225 Continental Philosophy (4 Credits)

This course provides a survey of major figures and developments in continental philosophy. Topics to be addressed include human nature and the nature of morality; conceptions of human history; the character and basis of societal hierarchies; and human beings’ relationship to technology. Readings from Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Marx, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir and others. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy. {H}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

PHI 228 Introduction to Latin American Philosophy (4 Credits)

This course provides a survey of different Latin American philosophical traditions and figures. Against some regimes of knowledge that doubt whether or not such philosophy does exist or could have its own status, the course considers from the very beginning the existence of a Latin American philosophy in its own right and its contributions to theorizing about the very idea of philosophy. Students examine different figures in Latin American thought relevant to social and political philosophy, Feminist philosophy, philosophy of liberation, Latin American Marxism, and philosophy of history. The course focuses on figures such as Guaman Poma de Ayala, Bartolomé de las Casas, Carlos Mariátegui, Enrique Dussel, Paulo Freire, Aníbal Quijano, Maria Lugones, Gloria Anzaldúa, Beatriz Nascimento, and Silvia Rivera Cusicánqui, among others. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Annually

PHI 231 Philosophy and Global Justice (4 Credits)

Most agree that people should be concerned with justice issues in our society or local communities. However, there is considerable disagreement about why people ought to care about issues that are beyond the boundaries of our local/domestic reality. This course will introduce students to the classical debates, theories and approaches to global justice. Students explore recent work in political philosophy, sociology, decolonial thought and legal theory, which draws connections among different topics: the historical roots of global legal justice as a response to imperial powers and colonialism, state sovereignty, war, the philosophical discussion about republicanism and the ideal of universal peace; cosmopolitanism and global governance; nationalism and patriotism; international law and transitional justice. (E) {H}{M}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 232ss Topics in Metaphysics- The Self and Selflessness (4 Credits)

This course explores a cluster of the most fundamental questions about human nature: What are humans? Do humans have core selves that determine our identity? If so, what is such a self, and how does it develop? Or might humans be selfless? If humans are selfless, what is the nature of their identities? What might the reality or unreality of the self mean for the nature of the human experience, for ethics or for what gives lives meaning? These are questions that have been raised and addressed with great sophistication in both Indian and Western philosophical traditions, and that have been explored empirically in cognitive psychology and by experimental philosophers. The investigation in this class will therefore be both cross-cultural and interdisciplinary. {M}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 233 Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art (4 Credits)

This course focuses on two overlapping clusters of philosophical questions. The course considers aesthetic problems like: What is beauty? How does one experience it, and where—in nature, in art, in ordinary objects and activities? Are there objective standards for aesthetic judgments? In philosophy of art, the course considers problems like: What makes something a work of art? What is art for? Do artists have moral responsibilities, and can art cultivate our moral sensibilities? Readings are from worldwide philosophical traditions. Assignments involve extensive use of the resources of the Smith College Museum of Art. {A}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 234ds Topics in Philosophy of Human Nature-Desire (4 Credits)

For many philosophical and religious thinkers, desire has been a source of some anxiety: depicted as being by their very nature powerful and insatiable, desires appear to weaken people’s capacities to control themselves and at the same time to open up opportunities for other people to control them. Focusing especially on the importance of desire to a consumer society, we examine questions such as: Is it possible to make a clear distinction between need and desire? To what extent are desires plastic, pliable, amenable to reshaping? Are we in any sense responsible for our desires?. {S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 234hr Topics in Philosophy of Human Nature-Human Rights and Justice (4 Credits)

This course surveys different accounts of human rights and theoretical concerns in the critical theory of human needs. In the first part of the course, the class focuses on the most important historical and philosophical theories of human rights to get a general sense of how the tradition of western philosophy has articulated this concept. Students also look at some decolonial and critical theories of this western tradition. In the second part, the class examines the tension between human rights and human needs. Students will pay attention to the literature about the problem of “needs” as they feature in the critique of capitalist society. (E) {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 234im Topics in Philosophy of Human Nature-Imagination (4 Credits)

Imagination is used in a lot of ways: from empathizing with others, engaging with music and literature, and planning the future to dreaming, art-making or conducting philosophical thought experiments. This course investigates a variety of questions related to imagination. What is the nature of mental imagery? What is the role of the self in imagination? How does imagination function in art-making, philosophical thought experiments and scientific discoveries? What are the moral and conceptual constraints on imagination? Can imagination be transformative for moral and creative lives? (E) {M}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 234ts Topics in Philosophy of Human Nature-The Self (4 Credits)

This course explores a cluster of the most fundamental questions about human nature: What are we? Do we have core selves that determine our identity? If so, what is such a self, and how does it develop? Or might we be selfless? If we are selfless, what is the nature of our identities? What might the reality or unreality of the self mean for the nature of our experience, for ethics, or for what gives our lives meaning? These are questions that have been raised and addressed with great sophistication in both Indian and Western philosophical traditions and that have been explored empirically in cognitive psychology and by experimental philosophers. Our investigation will therefore be both cross-cultural and interdisciplinary. {S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 235 Morality, Politics and the Law (4 Credits)

Close examination of the different but converging ways in which moral, political and legal contexts shape the analysis of an issue. For example: questions about the status of a right to privacy; the history of disgust as a ground for laws governing human behavior. {S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 236 Linguistic Structures (4 Credits)

Introduction to the issues and methods of modern linguistics, including morphology, syntax, semantics, phonology and pragmatics. The focus is on the revolution in linguistics introduced by Noam Chomsky, and the profound questions it raises for human nature, linguistic universals and language acquisition. {M}{N}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 237fn Topics in Nineteenth-Century Philosophy: Nietzsche (4 Credits)

Friedrich Nietzsche was one of the most insightful and provocative, but also one of the least understood of philosophers. He has been variously characterized as anti-semitic, elitist, illiberal, a Nazi, an irrationalist, a nihilist--the list goes on. Some of these labels are justified; others are not. In this course we will read a number of primary works by Nietzsche and examine his views on important philosophical issues such as the status of metaphysics, the significance of reason, the relationship between meaning and truth, the value of art and science, and the justification of a system of absolute moral values. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 238 Environmental Philosophy (4 Credits)

This course prepares students to understand and critically evaluate various ethical perspectives on human beings’ interactions with nature and these perspectives’ applications to environmental issues. The principal ethical perspectives studied are anthropocentrism, biocentric individualism, environmental holism and environmental pragmatism. The class studies representative descriptions and defenses of these perspectives and examine in particular whether they can validly and effectively help us resolve environmental problems. Students study controversies about biodiversity, wilderness protection, global climate change and pollution. Enrollment limited to 40. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

PHI 242 Medical Ethics (4 Credits)

An exploration of key issues in the area of medical ethics. Following the consideration of relevant philosophical background, discussions include patient autonomy and medical paternalism, informed consent, resource allocation and social justice, reproductive technologies and genetic screening, euthanasia and the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, and the experimental use of human subjects. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or health studies. {S}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

PHI 245 Introduction to the Philosophy of Law (4 Credits)

This is an introductory course to the field of philosophy of law. This course introduces students to both contemporary legal theory and a critical philosophical approach to the law from a decolonial and critical race theory. The course is structured into three parts: investigating the nature of law; studying the connection of normative notions (e.g., "authority," "rights," and "powers") with the realm of morality; and focusing on issues of race and the law, and alternative conceptions of property rights. {S}

Fall, Spring, Annually

PHI 250ig Topics in Epistemology-Ignorance (4 Credits)

What is Ignorance? Is it simply lack of knowledge? What is its relation to illusion, deception, self-deception? What is the difference between being ignorant of something and ignoring it? Is ignorance something for which one can be held responsible? Something for which one can be punished? Something for which one can be rewarded? To what social and political ends has ignorance been put, and how?.

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 252 Buddhist Philosophy: Madhyamaka and Yogacara (4 Credits)

This course examines the two principal schools of Indian Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. The Madhyamaka school is highly skeptical and critical in its dialectic. The ​Yogācāra or Cittamatra school is highly idealist. The two present contrasting interpretations of the thesis that phenomena are empty and contrasting interpretations of the relationship between conventional and ultimate reality. The debate between their respective proponents is among the most fertile in the history of Buddhist philosophy. Students read each school's principal sutras and early philosophical texts, medieval Tibetan and Chinese commentarial literature and recent scholarly discussions of the texts and doctrines of these schools. Prerequisites: one course in Philosophy or Buddhist Studies. Enrollment limited to 40. {H}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 253/ REL 253 Topics in Indian Philosophy (4 Credits)

Offered as REL 253 and PHI 253. Prerequisite: One PHI course. Topics course.

PHI 253bb/ REL 253bb Topics in Indian Philosophy-Buddhists and Brahmins (4 Credits)

Offered as PHI 253bb and REL 253bb. Buddhists and Brahmanical thinkers were frequently philosophically at odds with each other in premodern India. They disagreed over what reality is and how it can be known as well as how one can think and talk about it. This course focuses on key debates between these groups in order to appreciate the range of positions within both Buddhist and Brahmanical philosophy. Discussions may include: whether there is a self or a God, what words refer to, what can be known through language, the relationship between language and inference. Prerequisite: One PHI course. {H}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 254 African Philosophy (4 Credits)

This course explores the debate as to whether traditional African beliefs should be used as the foundation of contemporary African philosophy; the relationship between tradition and modernity in colonial and postcolonial Africa; and the relationship between African and African American beliefs and practices. Students read selections from Africans (Mbiti, Senghor, Hountondji, Bodunrin, Wiredu, Appiah, Sodips, Eze), African Americans (Blyden, Dubois, Mosley, Gates, Gilroy), Europeans (Levy-Bruhl, Tempels, Horton) and European Americans (Crawford, Bernasconi, Janz). {H}{L}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 255 Philosophy and Literature (4 Credits)

Of late there has been talk of philosophy’s being at an end or at least in need of transformation. In order to provide a measure of renewal, people are considering whether approaches taken and insights expressed in literature might enrich the study of philosophy. This course explores this issue through an examination of philosophical and literary treatments of friendship from different periods in the Western tradition, and of literary and philosophical reflections on human flourishing in the 20th century. The class also considers work by contemporary philosophers on the topic of what literature might have to contribute to the philosophical enterprise. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy, or equivalent. {H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

PHI 258me Topics in the Philosophy of Language-Metaphor (4 Credits)

Metaphors are everywhere: from pop music to Shakespeare's sonnets, ordinary idioms to religious texts. But what makes a linguistic utterance count as a metaphor? What do metaphors do and how do they do it? Do they have meanings, what could those be and how can one know them? This course considers theories of metaphor, drawing on multiple philosophical traditions, such as Indian, Chinese and the broadly Anglo-European analytic tradition. Prerequisite: One PHI course. {H}{M}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 262 Meaning and Truth: The Semantics of Natural Language (4 Credits)

This course is an introduction to central topics in the philosophy of language. What is the relation between thought, language and reality? What kinds of things do we do with words? Is there anything significant about the definite article "the"? How does meaning accrue to proper names? Is speaker meaning the same as the public, conventional (semantic) meaning of words? Is there a distinction between metaphorical and literal language? We explore some of the answers that philosophers like Frege, Russell, Strawson, Donnellan, Austin, Quine, Kripke and Davidson have offered to these and other related questions. Prerequisite: PHI 101, PHI 102 or equivalent. {M}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 304eh Seminar: Topics in Applied Ethics-Enhancing Humans: How We Could Do It, Whether We Should (4 Credits)

Humans have always sought to elevate the conditions of their existence. What differentiates enhancement’s strongest proponents, so-called transhumanists, from earlier thinkers like the ancient Greeks is their belief that crossing the divide from our plane of being to a higher one is possible, even inevitable, through humans’ technological ingenuity. Given their content and implications, scrutiny of transhumanists’ views is essential. Areas this colloquium addresses include transhumanists’ and their critics’ views of human nature; the implications of existing brain science for transhumanists’ more extravagant claims; their notions of knowledge, values and education; and transhumanists’ handling of risks, including those that are potentially grave. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 310cs Seminar: Topics in Recent and Contemporary Philosophy-Cosmopolitanism (4 Credits)

What does it mean to be a cosmopolitan person -- a global citizen? Can one simultaneously construct one's identity in terms of one's nationality, gender, ethnicity or other more local forms of community, and be truly cosmopolitan? If so, how? If not, which is the better approach? Is there one distinctive way of being cosmopolitan, or might there be varieties of cosmopolitanism arising in different cultural contexts, for instance, under colonial rule or conditions of exile? Is it self-evidently true that being a cosmopolitan person is a good thing for an individual or a society? What are some of its challenges? Students read essays by Kant, Mill, Nussbaum, Rawls, Rorty, Naipaul, Said, Tagore, Gandhi, Appiah and others with a view to examining and assessing different answers that have been proposed to these and related questions. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}{L}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 310dv Seminar: Topics in Recent and Contemporary Philosophy- Decolonial Visions of the State (4 Credits)

Decolonial philosophies have critically exposed state institutions as means of domination, control, violence and exploitation. Is it possible to envision different alternatives and new narratives of future institutions from political decolonial philosophies? While most of decolonial philosophy concerns critiques of different forms of violence, other dimensions of institutional making have received less attention. This course examines figures from decolonial and post-colonial theories that offer different visions of the future of the state beyond the characteristic contractarian or republicanists theories. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 310la Seminar: Topics in Recent and Contemporary Philosophy- Latin American Philosophy (4 Credits)

This course provides a survey of different Latin American philosophical traditions. The course considers the existence of a Latin American philosophy in its own right and its contributions to understanding other world philosophies. The course examines different figures in Latin American thought relevant to social and political philosophy; the history of philosophy; political violence and revolutions; and race, feminism and memory. Among others, the course focuses on figures such as Guaman Poma de Ayala, Bartolomé de las Casas, Carlos Mariátegui, Enrique Dussel, Aníbal Quijano, Maria Lugones, Gloria Anzaldúa and Silvia Rivera Cusicánqui. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}{L}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 310rp Seminar: Topics in Recent and Contemporary Philosophy-The Work of Repair (4 Credits)

Human beings appear to spend a great deal of time on projects of repair–fixing objects, mending relationships, repairing the social and political damage left in the wake of past events. What do such projects require of the mender? What changes take place in the mended? When is repair desirable? When is it inappropriate or impossible? Discussions include: the restoration of works of art, repair of the environment, the function of criticism and revision, the place of legal reparations, the meaning of apology and reconciliation, and pleasure in ruins. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}{L}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 315sb Seminar: Topics in the Philosophy of Science-Sustainability (4 Credits)

An examination of the conceptual and moral underpinnings of sustainability. Questions to be discussed include: What exactly is sustainability? On what conceptions of the world (as resource, as machine, as something with functional integrity, etc.) does sustainability rely, and are these conceptions justifiable? How is sustainability related to future people? What values are affirmed by sustainability, and how can those values be endorsed? How does sustainability compare with environmental objectives of longer standing such as conservation? Preference given to majors in either philosophy or environmental science and policy. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 320 Seminar: Fiction (4 Credits)

Humans seem to respond emotionally to fictions, like films or books. It seems like they can also talk about fictions, as when someone says in which (fictional) city the (fictional) characters live. But if these places and people don’t exist, what are humans feeling and talking about? This course investigates philosophical problems related to fiction in aesthetics and philosophy of language: Do fictional entities exist somehow, in minds or in the world? How does one explain human attitudes towards them? Can domains other than literature (e.g., morality, mathematics) be explained by using the concept of fiction? Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {M}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 330sc Seminar: Topics in the History of Philosophy-Schopenhauer and Indian Philosophy (4 Credits)

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was the first important European philosopher to take Indian philosophy seriously. He follows Kant’s transcendental idealism but places Kantian philosophy in dialogue with the Vedānta and Buddhist philosophy filtering into Europe as German and British orientalism began to flourish, synthesizing Kantian and Indian idealism. This course explores the Indian roots of Schopenhauer’s thought, the 19th century transmission of Indian ideas to Europe in which he participates, and the ways he uses Indian philosophy to advance a post-Kantian philosophical program. Prerequisite: a course in early modern European philosophy or a course in the history of Indian philosophy. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 334 Seminar: Topics in Philosophy of the Mind (4 Credits)

Topics course. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required.

PHI 334sk Seminar: Topics in Philosophy of the Mind-Self Knowledge (4 Credits)

This course examines how humans know their own minds. The course asks questions such as these: How do humans come to know that they have minds? Is introspection a kind of inner sense? Do humans have immediate access to the contents of their own minds? Is knowledge of the mind privileged or infallible? How is language implicated in self-knowledge? Do animals know the contents of their minds? These are questions that have been raised and addressed with great sophistication in both Indian and Western philosophical traditions and that have been explored empirically in cognitive psychology and by experimental philosophers. The investigation is both cross-cultural and interdisciplinary. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {M}

Fall, Spring, Variable

PHI 400 Special Studies (1-4 Credits)

For senior majors. Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring

PHI 430D Honors Project (4 Credits)

Department permission required.

Fall, Spring

PHI 431 Honors Project (8 Credits)

Department permission required.

Fall, Spring

PHI 432D Honors Project (6 Credits)

Department permission required.

Fall, Spring